


The Longest Road Collection

by icefallstears



Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Drabble Collection, M/M, Mild Cheating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-06 14:13:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3137327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icefallstears/pseuds/icefallstears
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A look at Charlie and Ian's relationship in drabbles.</p><p>Transferred from my LJ and FF.net account under the same name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All the characters herein are the property of the Numb3rs TV show, studio, writers, etc. This is a fan made work that has no intention of infringing on those rights.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first kiss.

Ian put down his beer and laughed. “I swear Professor; you have the most unique way of looking at things.”

Charlie flushed and took a sip of his beer. 

“Everything is numbers.”

Ian laughed again.

“So you say.”

He then grew serious and leaned towards Charlie, one hand reaching out to brush his cheek.

“So what kind of numbers would this be?

Charlie leaned into Ian’s hand.

“I don’t know yet. Let’s see.”

Then he leaned closer and pressed his lips to Ian’s.

It was slow and tender. Charlie moaned softly and then sighed as Ian drew away slowly.

“Perfect.”


	2. Canaries or Cream?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> post sex cuddles

Ian rolled off of Charlie and grinned. He shifted so that he was on his side, and tucked Charlie into the crook of his arm. Charlie snuggled close and rested his head on Ian’s chest.

Ian chuckled and kissed Charlie’s forehead.

“Don’t get too comfortable. We still need to clean up.”

Charlie snuggled closer.

“But I’m really quite comfortable.”

Ian rested his free hand on Charlie’s back.

“So am I.”

The hand began to stroke softly.

Charlie smiled and kissed Ian’s chest.

The strokes became more sensuous.

Charlie grinned as he rolled on top of Ian.

“Let’s clean up later.”


	3. Slide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shower Sex

Charlie’s nipples hit the cold tile of the shower wall. The contrast between the cold wall, the hot water, and the even hotter body of Ian pressed against his back was exquisite.

Ian’s hands stroked down the muscles of Charlie’s sides, before coming to rest on his hips gripping tightly as he thrust his cock more deeply into Charlie.

Charlie moaned as Ian hit his prostate.

Ian bent his knees, tightening his grip, tilting Charlie into him more, and stroked over the same spot as slowly and forcefully as he could.

Charlie braced his hands against the wall and came.


	4. Never Show Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shovel talk

Don stood next to Ian as they watched Charlie scribble signs and symbols that neither understood across a chalkboard. Don shifted and turned his head to stare hard at Edgerton. Edgerton returned Don’s look with sardonic amusement at the implied threat within it. 

Edgerton spoke with cynicism dripping from every word, “Say what you want to say.”

Don growled back, “I don’t care how good a shot you are. If you hurt Charlie, I’ll kill you.”

“I know. I also know that I’d never hurt him.” 

Ian didn’t say that he just knew that Charlie was going to hurt him.


	5. Saw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian sees something he wished he hadn't.

Ian stood in the elevator, mentally wishing that it would get to the third floor faster. It had been pure luck that his hunt had ended in this city. Charlie was in town for a colloquium on math applications in law enforcement.

Charlie, before Ian left for the hunt, had told him which hotel and his room number. Ian was looking forward to an uninterrupted night with his lover.

The elevator doors opened and Ian stepped out. He turned towards Charlie’s room and then stopped.

There was Charlie, kissing a woman.

Ian turned around and walked back into the elevator.


	6. Seen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie makes a mistake.

Charlie hummed to himself as he got ready for bed.  He decided to go get some ice. He liked to keep ice water next the bed at night.  
He opened the door and ran into to a young woman whom he didn’t recognize.

“Hello, Dr. Eppes."  
  
The slur in her voice told him that she was intoxicated.

“Can I help you?” He asked.

Suddenly he was being kissed; instinctively he kissed back for a few seconds.

Then he gently shoved her off and turned to go back into his room.

Was that Ian?

Here?

Oh please,  _no_.

Ian don’t go!


	7. Slip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian leaves.

Charlie stared at Ian who was standing next to his truck throwing his stuff in. “Please don’t leave.”

“Why not? Clearly you don’t want me here. If you did  _she_  wouldn’t be here.”

“ I don’t even know that girl!”

“You think that that makes it any better? You still slept with her!”

“I didn’t sleep with her!”

“Then why were you sucking her face off outside your hotel room door at 12 AM?

“I was going for some ice when she pinned me against my door! She was drunk.”

“Drunk or not you still kissed her back. I’m leaving.”


	8. The End of Nowhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian stops running from the pain.

Ian pulled off the road. He had realized that he had driven over 100 miles since leaving that hotel, but he had no idea where he was. The rage that had been fueling him was gone, leaving him hollow and hurting. His cell phone buzzed on the seat next to him telling him that he had messages. He checked his missed calls log. There were none from work and 14 from Charlie. He opened his voicemail.

  _Ian? I am so sorry. I don’t know why I did it. Please… forgive me?_

Ian dropped his head and let the tears fall.


	9. Who

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian goes for a little help.

Brigadier General Edgerton put down her phone and watched her office door open. There was her baby brother looking like he’d been dragged down 100 miles of bad road. He just stood in the doorway. She left her desk, shut the door, pulled him over to her office’s couch, and forced him to sit down. She sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulders.

“Bad hunt?” She asked.

Ian just shook his head still not speaking. She pulled off his sunglasses.

“Bad break up?”

He hunched in on himself.

“So. Who do I have to kill?”


	10. Broken Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Trust is like a mirror. You can fix it if it’s broke. But you can still see the crack in that mother-f****rs reflection.” -   
> Lady Gaga's music video for "Telephone"

Charlie wrapped up his speech. He was bone tired. He hadn’t slept since Ian showed up and saw that kiss.

He should have pushed her off him immediately. He should have never kissed her back.

He loved Ian. He loved him so much.

Was it instinct that he kissed her back? Or was it a subconscious attempt to be normal? An attempt to be the son he knew his father wanted? The kind who had a beautiful wife and two kids?

Either way, he had broken the unspoken trust between himself and Ian.

Could it be fixed?

He didn’t know.  


	11. Grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wolves mate for life.

Hannah Edgerton stood in the doorway of her guest bedroom and watched her brother sleep. It seemed that he’d driven over halfway across the country before arriving on base. She’d taken the rest of the day off to get him here, fed, and settled in bed.

Ian had always been a lone wolf, even when they were children growing up on a variety of bases across the world. He liked few people and trusted even fewer. Whoever stole and broke Ian’s heart would have had to be exceptional.

People always forgot one vital thing about wolves.

They mated for life.


	12. P vs. NP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie finds no comfort.

Charlie stood at one of the many chalkboards in his garage and just stared. It was covered with equations for P vs. NP. For once in his life it did not allow him to forget.

He still hadn’t heard from Ian. Part of him was convinced that he never would. That Ian would simply disappear into the hunt. Another part of him screamed that it couldn’t be; that it mustn’t be.

That part of him died a little more at each thought of never being near Ian again.

Charlie examined the board. Then he turned and left the equation behind.


	13. Swear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah meets Charlie... loudly.

Don heard the yelling coming from Charlie’s office from the opposite end of the hallway. At first it was indistinct, but as he got closer certain words could be heard with ear piercing clarity.

“What the Hell were you Motherfucking thinking!?"

Don opened the office door.

There, in the middle of Charlie’s office, was a tall raven haired woman in the dress uniform of the army with a single star on each shoulder.

Don interrupted, “You have no right to talk to my brother like that.”

The woman turned, “Well this Asshole had no right to break  _my_  brother’s heart!"


	14. Double Tap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian contemplates why he ran.

Ian sat on the bed in Hannah’s guest room and replayed that night. He’d been so happy at the thought of seeing Charlie, and then it was ruined. He had had to get away, to run away even. He’d been so  _angry_  and he’d almost lost control.

It would have been so easy,  _too_ easy to draw his service piece and double tap that bitch. She wouldn’t have been able to keep kissing Charlie then.

He couldn’t have stayed when he couldn’t think straight from the rage that had consumed him.

Charlie had to be protected, even from Ian himself. 


	15. Cross Country

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie takes a trip.

Charlie clenched and unclenched his fingers around the steering wheel of his Prius. He’d been driving for over two days and had finally made it into North Carolina. He was six hours away from Fort Bragg, the base that Ian’s sister was stationed at.

Don had been very displeased at Hannah’s method of describing how much he had hurt Ian. Charlie didn’t mind. She hadn’t said anything that he hadn’t thought already.

He didn’t know if Ian would see him. After all he still hadn’t called Charlie back.

That didn’t matter though. What mattered was that Charlie had to try.


	16. Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie arrives at Hannah's.

Ian heard the doorbell ring. He looked up from cleaning his rifle. It was spread across Hannah’s dining table in pieces.

He headed towards the front door, pistol in hand. He didn’t expect there to be trouble, but that was no reason to be careless. He looked through the peephole.

Charlie. It was Charlie.

He took a deep breath; he blew it out again then unlocked and opened the door.

“Hello, Professor Eppes.”

Charlie flinched.

“Ian.”

Ian watched as Charlie swallowed nervously.

“Ian, can we talk? We really have to talk.”

Ian stepped back into the house.

“Come in then.”


	17. Wordless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Ian take a step.

Charlie shut the door behind him and stared at Ian. He had traveled for so far and so long to get here, yet he had absolutely no idea what to say. He had never been good with words unless they were related somehow to numbers.

He couldn’t screw this up. It was too important.

Ian shifted on his feet and then turned from Charlie towards the kitchen.

“Would you like something to drink?”

Charlie reached out and grabbed Ian’s shoulder. Ian turned back.

“I love you. You shouldn’t forgive me; but I’ll never stop loving you.”

Ian’s hand covered Charlie’s.


	18. Why?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Ian start to talk things out.

Ian squeezed Charlie’s hand lightly and then removed it from his shoulder. Tugging it gently, he led Charlie to Hannah’s dining room table. They sat down on opposite sides.

“Can you explain why you kissed her back?” Ian asked, making sure his voice did not tremble.

Charlie sighed, “You mean make an excuse? I was surprised, but I wasn’t that surprised. I wasn’t so sleepy that I didn’t know what was going on. I simply didn’t think. About you or about us. I should have thought. I didn’t and for that I’m sorry. I’m sorrier still that I hurt you.”


	19. The Quiet One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Ian continue to talk it out.

Charlie watched Ian absorb what he’d said. He had to fight the urge to shiver in apprehension. Ian was quiet, too quiet in fact. Unless Ian was actively on the hunt he was never this quiet. He always had a quip, a question, or joke ready; anything but this dead silence.

Ian knew he was making Charlie nervous. Trembling hands, accelerated pulse at the base of throat, sweat on the upper lip, all the signs where there. He also knew he couldn’t help it. He didn’t know what to say in the face of Charlie’s confession.

The truth hurt. Greatly.


	20. Dredge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian draws a line in the sand.

Ian struggled to find strength to say the words he knew he had to.

“Yes, you hurt me. You hurt  _us_.

Charlie looked down at the table.

Ian continued, “I can’t remember a time when I hurt so badly. You broke me. Now I have to put myself back together. I want to be able to function again. I want you to be a part of that, but I can’t let you. Not yet. Not until I can be sure that this won’t happen again. So tell me Charlie, will it happen again?

Charlie looked Ian in the eyes. “No.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't touched this project in years. I may leave it as is for the rest of eternity. I may add some happily ever after in the next months or years. But this is still one of my favorite projects.


End file.
